LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - Bookmakers Ladbrokes andGala Coral will have to sell between 350 and 400 shops to winclearance for their merger, the British competition regulatorsaid on Friday.
In the provisional findings of a review of the deal, theCompetition and Markets Authority said a tie-up between thesecond- and third-largest bookmakers may give rise tocompetition concerns in a large number of local areas.
"In order to resolve these concerns, around 350 to 400 shopsmay have to be sold for the merger to be conditionally cleared,"it said.
Ladbrokes operates 2,154 betting shops in Britain and 77 inNorthern Ireland and Coral operates around 1,850 betting shopsin Britain.
Ladbrokes agreed the terms of a 2.3 billion pound all-sharemerger with Coral in July, and the company's shareholders backedthe deal in November. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Susan Thomas)